Red Hills lake | A.Raja Chidambaram
CHENNAI: A red alert has been sounded for people of 11 villages along the Red Hills Lake after surplus water was released on Friday. Tiruvallur Collector Alby John Varghese said 500 cusecs were released due to heavy rain in the catchment area.
He said as of Friday, Red Hills has 2.738 tmcft of water against its maximum capacity of 3.3 tmcft. As part of a precautionary measure, they were discharging 100 cusecs every day since November 2 and now it has been increased to 500 cusecs since more rain is expected over the coming days.
“Residents living in low-lying areas such as Naravarikuppum, Thandal, Kazhani, Vadakarai, Grandline, Puzhal, Vadaperumbakkam, Mathur, Vasapur, Manali and Sadayankuppum have been asked to move to higher ground,” the collector added.
Speaking about Kosasthalair outflow, the collector pointed out that the rain in Tirupati and Chittoor in AP is diverted into the Bay of Bengal via the river. So, Water Resources Department officials have been instructed to keep in touch with AP officials to know about water discharge.
The officials are also keeping an eye on Poondi, Cholavaram, and Thervoy Kandigai reservoirs. Meanwhile, 569 cusecs of surplus water were discharged from Chembarambakkam Lake and additionally, 105 cusecs were discharged for Metro Water and 3 cusecs for Sipcot.
